Foxit eSlick, New eInk based reader for $229

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

From http://www.foxitsoftware.com/ebook/: I was wondering if the eSlick would use the Epson controller, since it is now available (in PRS-700 and soon in EZ Reader Pro/Plus), but the low price point argues against this. Higher quality screen could mean "more greyscales" (e.g. from Epson) in a pinch, but otherwise what could it mean?

It could mean the plastic backing for screens is just around the corner instead of glass.

Dale

[Dedale]

Mobileread staff will still receive a unit for test in the next days or they'll have to wait too ?

[Nate the great]

I wasn't clear before. They might ship a review unit next week, but it's more likely that it won't be shipped until after the New Year.

[Dedale]

Then, I'll be patient

[alll87]

thanks for share!! i found a better 1 in amazon!!ahha

[gylman]

I've pondered this aplenty, because every day as I try to use my PRS 505 the limitations of poor pdf support become more apparent.

If Foxit really have addressed reflow and paging properly with pdf documents, wouldn't they be far better off licensing this to Sony. Sony has a very substantial installed base that is crying out for decent pdf support. Foxit is not a hardware company. There are engineering issues, distribution issues, support issues etc etc - gawd only knows what kind of problems they will run into related to that aspect of the business.

Wouldn't both sides be better off working together, especially in these times when the cash is not flowing freely? I think poor PDF support is holding back the adoption of the eBook. The company that first addresses this will have a serious advantage.

Sony could offer Foxit's software as an upgrade to its existing PRS series, for a cost, and provide it on future models as part of the system.

I don't see a downside except for issues relating to ego. Sony has always gone it alone - that's the culture there. But the company is struggling now, and has had its butt whooped by Nintendo in the gaming world. Maybe they can find a tiny bit of humility.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by gylman

If Foxit really have addressed reflow and paging properly with pdf documents, wouldn't they be far better off licensing this to Sony.

That's really up to Sony not Foxit. Foxit does infact license their reader. The Jetbooks uses it.

Sony licenses their PDF viewer (and I think ePub) from Adobe.

BOb

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by gylman

If Foxit really have addressed reflow and paging properly with pdf documents, wouldn't they be far better off licensing this to Sony.

One way of looking at this is that Adobe and FoxIt are competitors for the PDF dollar. The advantage Adobe has is Adobe DRM, which locks ebooks to Adobe Digital Editions. This means that Sony can't switch horses from Adobe to FoxIt without ditching DRMed PDFs. i.e. it is virtually impossible. Since Adobe invented PDF you would expect them to have an advantage in PDF technology too, but Adobe Digital Editions is a dumbed down PDF reader. So FoxIt may already have better software (we will find out once the eSlick is available), or can incrementally improve to better software. Competition may spur Adobe to improve, but they could instead sit pat on their DRM bastion.

FoxIt could licence its handheld PDF reader software to other vendors, like Hanlin and Bookeen. It isn't clear if that is part of their plan or not. They should definitely sell PDF reader software for OpenInkPot directly from their website. I would gladly pay (say) $25 for such software, and this is unlikely to cannibalize eSlick sales.

[gylman]

Clearly, it's more complex than my simple analysis considers.

The final question in mind then is why Adobe provided such a dumbed down version of their software to Sony? And why Sony accepted it? Clearly it is hurting Sony's product sales, and I don't see any advantage to Adobe at all. All they are doing is creating opportunity for a (tiny) competitor.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by gylman

The final question in mind then is why Adobe provided such a dumbed down version of their software to Sony?

Sony has pretty much exactly what the Desktop Adobe Digital Editions has (at least for ePub, I'm less sure about PDF). The Desktop version was dumbed down because Adobe is delivering it as a Flash application. I don't know if this required them to simplify the feature list or if this was just a time to market issue. To be fair to ADE, it is the only in-line PDF reflowing capability on a current EInk device and it does also deliver a full page view. What most people want is a "full page but margins clipped" view and conventional zoomed page views in addition to reflowing options. This is apparently what Foxit will provide, but the devil is in the details so we will have to wait to see if they bring this off.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by gylman

I've pondered this aplenty, because every day as I try to use my PRS 505 the limitations of poor pdf support become more apparent.

If Foxit really have addressed reflow and paging properly with pdf documents, wouldn't they be far better off licensing this to Sony. Sony has a very substantial installed base that is crying out for decent pdf support. Foxit is not a hardware company. There are engineering issues, distribution issues, support issues etc etc - gawd only knows what kind of problems they will run into related to that aspect of the business.

Wouldn't both sides be better off working together, especially in these times when the cash is not flowing freely? I think poor PDF support is holding back the adoption of the eBook. The company that first addresses this will have a serious advantage.

Sony could offer Foxit's software as an upgrade to its existing PRS series, for a cost, and provide it on future models as part of the system.

I don't see a downside except for issues relating to ego. Sony has always gone it alone - that's the culture there. But the company is struggling now, and has had its butt whooped by Nintendo in the gaming world. Maybe they can find a tiny bit of humility.

Sony is already licensing ADE. Why would they license yet another product that does the same thing?

[pennpin]

they sent me another newsletter with this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdPLe8TU57U

[wallcraft]

The eSlick home page now says:

Good news: Foxit is currently working with different content providers for DRM PDF support, including the support for eReader format.

This statement is ambiguous: does it mean standard eReader ebook support and DRMed PDF (or what)? With or without eReader ebooks, the "DRM PDF" could be eReader DRM (i.e. not Adobe Secure PDFs, but another Secure container for PDF). FictionWise is already taking about eReader DRM for ePub, so this seems possible.

In any case, this does make the eSlick an even more interesting new entry into the ebook market. I wonder if this device is what scuttled the original Astak Mentor. Price and features are sounding familiar, although the PDF capability is what Foxit uniquely brings to the table.

[SaraD]

There were a few bits of information I was not finding on the eSlick website or in their e-mail updates so I wrote to the company. Here are the answers such as they were...

From: Nancy [mailto:xiaoyan_chen@foxitsoftware.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 12:30 AM
Subject: Re: [Fwd: eSlick Question]

Hello Sara,
Thanks for you email.
Following are my answers for you questions.

1) Does it use the new Epson controller? Or the standard one put out
by Viziplex?
eSlick do not use the new Epson controller. And the Epson controller is not available right now.
I think it may probably be released in Aplir. Yes, it is the standard one put out by Viziplex.

2) What is the upgraded higher quality screen? Is it still glass or
has the jump been made to plastic?
It is still glass.

3) Will a protective case be available for it?
No, there is not a case with it.

4) Is the battery user-replaceable? If so how much will the
replacements be and where can they be obtained?
Yes, you can replace the battery. We will also sell the spare parts of eSlick on our website soon.

Please sign up newsletter of eSlick on our website that you will be updated the newest information of eSlick immediate.
Please let me know if any questions. Thanks!

[nexist]

Originally Posted by PDAToday

I think the idea on MP3 is that you can listen to your Book on Audio files. Sort of a one eBook device for reading and listening

I suppose that makes sense. However, I haven't liked to be read to since kindergarten.